


Roman the Tooth Fairy

by HiddenDreamer67



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Brotherly Analogical - Freeform, Child AU, Dentist, Fae!Roman, Fairy, Growing Up, Teen!Virgil, child!logan, fae, fairy!roman, kid AU, logan is a precious bean, tooth, tooth fairy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 09:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: Roman, a dedicated servant to tooth fairy kind, has no idea what awaits him when he is caught one night by a curious young boy by the name of Logan.





	Roman the Tooth Fairy

Being a Tooth Fairy was a noble profession, in Roman’s opinion. It was his job to travel all around the world, flying into children’s bedrooms and exchanging their baby teeth beneath a pillow for some sort of reward. Often this was some form of currency, but it could be other things as well. Sometimes children would leave him notes, and Roman was one of the few fae who would take the time to respond. He knew that childhood imagination was a wondrous thing and Roman did everything he could to keep it alive.

Of course, Roman was such a dedicated and loyal public servant to fairy kind, that as he was painstakingly writing out the answers to a _ very  _ long list of questions in his signature golden ink, Roman did not see the figure creeping up with a jar until it was too late.

“Gotcha!” The child declared, causing Roman to jump as he suddenly found himself surrounded by glass. Roman turned, pressing himself against the wall. No matter- he had close calls before. As soon as the child turned the jar over Roman would dash out the window, out into the night. But, it seemed the boy had thought of this. Rather than turn the jar the kid immediately dashed to Roman’s exit, shutting the glass panes.

…well, that would make things a bit more difficult.

Roman let out a grunt, tossed to the side as  _ now  _ the boy returned, turning over the jar so that he could peer inside with amazement.

“Are you really the thooth fairy?” He asked, a slight lisp present due to the obvious hole in his smile thanks to the tooth tucked into Roman’s bag.

“Well I’m certainly not the easter bunny.” Roman huffed. Despite his sarcastic answer, the child’s eyes lit up.

“Why do you collect the theeth?” The kid immediately began prattling off questions. “Why do you leave money? How do you fly? Where do you live? Are there other fairies?”

“Okay, okay!” Roman put up his hands, urging the young boy to stop. “I get it, you’ve got a lot of questions. But I already answered the ones on your paper, and I really have to get going. I need to visit the other children of the world too, you know. You wouldn’t want your friends to wake up upset, now would you?”

“I don’t talk to other kids.” The child wrinkled his nose. “I refuse to a-knowledge them.”

“...of course you don’t.” The fairy sighed. Well, so much for guilt tripping. 

Roman yelped, finding himself tumbling head over heels as without warning the boy turned the jar upside-down again, depositing Roman in his little hand. Before Roman could reorient himself the fingers wrapped around his form, surprisingly gentle but efficient in their mission to keep him contained. Roman squirmed, fluttering his wings desperately to try to pull himself out as they were the only appendages still free.

“Woah.” The boy let out a noise of awe, reaching out with his other hand to grab the tip of Roman’s right wing.

“C-careful!” Roman warned, freezing instantly at the touch lest his struggles cause the wing to rip. “Those are  _ very  _ delicate, young man.”

“I know.” The child said, but Roman felt the touch on his wings get softer. “Like butterflies. I read about them.”

“Then you should know not to touch.” Roman shuddered, feeling the fingertips trace down his wing and onto his back. “Or else you’ll rub off all the dust and I won’t be able to fly.” This was a bit of an exaggeration, but it had the right effect. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Tooth Fairy.” The boy winced, pulling his fingers back with a hiss as though he had burned them. “Are they alright? I...I didn’t know.” 

“Well, I don’t know…” Roman feigned injury, giving them a weak flap. “I’ll have to give them a test flight.”

The child, though intelligent, was still young enough to be gullible. He opened his hand, and the moment he did Roman shot up into the air. 

“Hey! Wait!” The child tried to make a grab at him, but Roman was too quick as he made a dash for the window, throwing his arms wide to dust the panes ajar and let in the night air.

“Please, come back!” The kid pleaded, following him to the windowsill and reaching out desperately. Behind him, the bedroom door opened, allowing the hallway light to flood in.

“Logan?” A tired voice said. “Who are you talking to?”

Roman didn’t stick around to find out, knowing he had wasted enough time tonight already. He flew off into the darkness, feeling thankful when the distant nursery was soon out of sight and out of mind.

Roman, if he were a fairy of sounder mind, might have requested to switch sections with someone. However, Roman was unafraid, knowing to be prepared when sure enough another tooth was lost at the Sander’s household. This time, it was Logan’s older brother, and because it wasn’t the culprit himself Roman was foolish enough to let his guard down.

As Roman was reaching underneath the pillow to collect the tooth, the pillow was suddenly flipped over, smothering Roman and pinning him to the bed. Roman tried to scream, but his yells were muffled by the fluffy contraption. A moment later he was mercifully yanked out by his leg, dangling upside down in front of the teen who was supposed to be asleep.

“Huh.” The teen looked surprised, staring down at Roman’s struggles through unkempt violet bangs. “What do ya know, Logan was telling the truth.” 

“Unhand me!” Roman commanded, much more ill at ease with an older child. He looked far too old to still be losing teeth.

“Nah.” The boy gave a smirk. “It’s much more fun to watch you dangle. Besides, you’re the one who’s trespassing and stealing human remains.”

“Alright, you don’t have to be so macabre, macbeth.” Roman huffed. Humans never seemed to understand the delicate art of tooth collection.

“So what’s your deal, anyways?” The teen asked, sitting up. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Roman.” Roman explained. “And I have important business to attend to, young man, so I must insist you release me at once.”

“Yeah, whatever.” The boy rolled his eyes, standing up. He flipped the fairy, still upside down but now holding both his legs in a secure grip just as Logan had done a month ago. “You’re not going anywhere until you apologize for making Logan cry.”

Roman paused, not expecting that statement. “I...I did not intend to upset him.” Roman frowned. Even if the child had caught him, Roman couldn’t fault the young boy for being curious, and considering it was Roman’s job to bring joy to children it felt disheartening to know he had disappointed the boy.

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.” The teen lowered his voice, speaking softly as he looked out into the hall to check that the coast was clear. “Look, I get you’ve got your whole magic rules and whatever, but would it really have killed you to talk to him? That’s all he wants, you know.”

“Yes, I noticed, he’s quite the chatterbox.” Roman observed with what was almost an amused chuckle, swaying back and forth as his captor was on the move. “It seems to keep up a conversation that boy will just talk your ear off for you.”

“Only at home.” The teen corrected, sneaking down the hall with a grim expression. “He’s not good at opening up, so at school he’s really quiet. The kid doesn’t have any friends.”

“He mentioned that.” Roman said in realization, the memory coming back to him. “It sounded like he just thought his classmates were beneath him.”

“Well hey, I’d put up that shield too if I kept being pushed to the side.” Pushing open one of the bedroom doors, Roman was brought into the familiar nursery room from before. Or at least, that’s what he assumed. It was hard to tell when he was upside-down, and frankly Roman was beginning to find the sensation of all the blood rushing to his head quite unpleasant. 

The older brother walked over to the bed, where Logan was fast asleep. His glasses were placed lovingly on the nightstand, where Roman remembered painstakingly writing his response to Logan’s note. In sleep, the boy looked far more peaceful.

Well, not for long. In true brotherly fashion the teen grabbed a spare pillow and whacked it across Logan’s face. The younger sibling gasped, eyes bursting open as he scrambled to grab his glasses.

“Hey nerd, your imaginary friend’s back.” Roman found himself now dangled directly above the bed, looking down at a shocked Logan. 

“Virgil!” Logan immediately protested, concern filling those little brown eyes. “You can’t hold him like that, put him down!”

“Sure thing.” Virgil gave a smirk, and suddenly Roman found himself tumbling through the air. He didn’t even have time to attempt a take off before he was once again snatched up, this time by much smaller fingers.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked, having caught the fairy.

“I-yes, Logan, I'm fine.” Roman took careful note of the way the fingers stayed securely wrapped around his middle like a seatbelt, as well as the way Virgil was now casually moving to lean against the window. What little brats.

No, Roman took that thought back immediately. They were making his job difficult, of course, but he could sense their hearts were in the right place. 

“Okay, um, well…” Logan seemed almost nervous, reaching into his bedside drawer with his non-fairy hand. He set down a large notebook on the bed, flipping it open to reveal a crude set of notes that seemed to be all about fairy lore. 

“That’s quite a bit of research you’ve got there.” Roman gave an impressive sound, causing Logan to look quite pleased with himself. It was almost as though Logan had thought of nothing else since his last visit. The boy continued to flip through, back to a section labelled ‘QUESTIONS’. Roman let out a low whistle. That was… a  _ lot  _ of questions. 

“Alright, look.” Roman cut Logan off before he even began. “I can see you’ve got a lot of questions here. But you have to understand, I can’t stay here all night.”

Logan’s face fell. “But…” He looked to his brother pleadingly, who in turn scowled at Roman.

“How about, I make you a deal.” Roman raised his hands in surrender, knowing when he was caught. “I’ll be back here for every tooth that’s lost. I can answer  _ one  _ question for each tooth.”

Logan opened his mouth, mentally trying to count the teeth with his tongue as he looked at the number of questions on the page.

“That doesn’t seem very fair.” Virgil argued. “Especially when we could just force you to stay here forever.”

“Virgil, I thought you said I had ‘ta let him go?” Logan frowned, clearly experiencing mixed signals. Roman was surprised at this knowledge, as he had taken Virgil to be the more manipulative of the two.

“Logan, we don’t tell  _ him  _ that.” Virgil groaned, putting his hand on his forehead.

“Oh. Apologies.” Logan looked embarrassed.

“It’s one question, or no questions.” Roman’s tone was firm. “And since tonight was Virgil’s tooth, it’s your question tonight, sunken scowl.”

“How do we know you’ll come back and keep your promise?” Virgil narrowed his gaze. Roman raised his pinky finger, but this only seemed to confuse Virgil. “What is that, what are you doing?”

“The most powerful promise in the entire realm.” Roman said seriously. 

Logan, being seven, recognized the gesture at once, and carefully wrapped his much larger pinky around the fairy’s for an interlocking pinky promise.

“Oh good lord.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I’m too old for this stuff.”

“Yes, I’d imagine.” Roman concurred, taking back his hand so he could glance into the bag. “I do believe this is your last baby tooth.”

“So Virgil won’t see you again?” Logan tilted his head.

“Well I certainly won’t be making any house calls.” Roman snorted. “Now come on then, you both got a question in. No more freebies.”

“Alright, let him go.” Virgil conceded, stepping to the side and pushing the window open. With reluctance Logan opened his fingers, and Roman shot him a grateful smile. 

“Take care.” Roman paused in front of the teen, giving him a nod before flying out the window. 

True to his word, Roman returned a few months later to retrieve Logan’s next tooth. The boy was sitting on the floor waiting for him, rubbing his eyes sleepily and trying desperately to keep awake.

“Logan, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Roman raised an eyebrow, walking across the blanketed surface and reaching beneath the pillow. 

“I was waiting for you.” Logan yawned. “Virgil said you wouldn’t answer my questions if I wasn’t awake.”

Well, now Roman felt bad for leaving this until later in the evening. He had wanted to complete his other runs first, knowing now that the Sander’s home might take a while. 

“Did you pull this out?” Roman asked, examining the tooth. It was a bit bloodied still, as though it hadn’t been ready to fall out on its own.

“...no.” Logan shifted, not meeting Roman’s eye when the fairy gave him a stern look. “Virgil pulled it out.”

“No more yanking out your teeth.” Roman sighed, wiping it off with one of his rags before placing it gently in the bag. “Goodness gracious, doesn’t that hurt?”

“Not really.” Logan shrugged, his tongue dancing over the new hole in his mouth. “I wanted to see you again. It’s been ages, and you only come for teeth.”

“Well you’re just going to have to learn to be more patient.” Roman huffed. “Fairies don’t like bloody teeth, you know.”

Logan seemed to take this information to heart, as the next time Roman visited the tooth was already washed and polished.

“Do you like it?” Logan rubbed at his eyes, seeming to have bags beneath them.

“Yes, it’s very nice.” Roman assured him, taking it and putting it away.

“I still don’t see why you like them so much.” Logan admitted. “It’s just a tooth.”

“It’s not just a tooth, it’s a sign you’re growing up.” Roman raised an eyebrow, teasing. “Is that your question?”

“No cheating, that wasn’t a question.” Logan frowned. “I didn’t say it with a questioning tone.”

“I don’t know, it sounded pretty questioning to me…” Roman laughed, hearing Logan give a small cry when he pretended to go towards the window. Sleep deprivation seemed to make the child even more fun to mess with. “Alright, alright, I yield. Ask your question.” 

As time went on, Roman found himself almost looking forward to these visits as much as Logan himself. Roman would rearrange his schedule so that he could spend more and more time with the child, curious to know more as Roman found himself growing attached.

Eventually, Logan felt secure enough in his visits to actually go to sleep before the fairy arrived, knowing Roman would wake him. Roman didn’t dare try to skip out on a question and face Virgil’s wrath again. He didn’t want to skip out on a question, anyways. There were only so many baby teeth in a human’s mouth, and Roman was quickly collecting them all. Soon there would be none left for Logan to put under his pillow.

“What happens when somebody loses all their baby teeth?” Logan asked one night, trying to look up at the fairy sat atop his head. “Do tooth fairies still visit them?”

“No, tooth fairies are just for children.” Roman explained. “Adults don’t need us.”

“But what if adults want tooth fairies?” Logan pressed on. “Or what if an adult loses a tooth. I’ve read about it happening.” (Logan had read a lot about teeth by this point). “What if an adult puts that tooth under their pillow?”

Roman gave Logan a look, knowing what the adolescent was trying to plan. “Logan, don’t go knocking out your own teeth. It doesn’t work like that; we only collect baby teeth.”

“It was worth a question.” Logan shrugged. “I wish it did work like that, then you could stay forever.”

“No, you’d still run out of teeth.” Roman reminded him. “And then you’d just be a toothless blob, like a goldfish. A goldfish who can’t even talk. Are you going to flop into the sea as well?”

Logan stuck his tongue out in disgust at the idea of no teeth. “Goldfish don’t live in the ocean...do they?”

“How should I know?” Roman shrugged, laying down in Logan’s hair. “I only know teeth.”

The next visit Logan brought along a book of oceanography he had borrowed from the school library.

“Goldfish have teeth.” Logan informed Roman, only moments after the fairy flew in on the nightly breeze. He pointed down at the diagram in the pages. “And they don’t live in the ocean.”

“I suppose you’ll just have to be a toothless goldfish then.” Roman sighed dramatically.

“No, I’d be a toothless person.” Logan corrected.

“Nope, only a goldfish, there’s no other way.” Roman flopped onto the book, laying his hand across his forehead as if pretending to faint. “Logan, the poor saltwater, tooth-lacking goldfish, I knew him well.” 

Logan rolled his eyes, bending the book closed just enough to force Roman to sit up before Logan laid back, tilting the book vertically so Roman gently slid down onto his chest.

“You’re very dramatic.” Logan observed.

“I’d be offended if you hadn’t realized that.” Roman quirked an eyebrow. “I’m not trying to be subtle.” Logan chuckled, and it bounced Roman slightly in a pleasant manner.

Logan learned a lot of things about Roman through his stream of questions. But likewise, Roman learned a lot about the boy he saw on and off for almost six years. He learned that Logan was one of the smartest twelve-year-olds around, but had trouble articulating himself when it came to emotions. He learned that Logan loved to read, and would show off this skill whenever Roman allowed him the chance. 

Roman also learned something very important about himself: he had grown to love Logan.

Roman glanced out the window, noticing the moon was already high in the sky. It shone down into the nursery and coated the room in a soft glow.

The pillow beneath Roman shifted as the human child moaned in his sleep, rolling over so he was now facing Roman. His warm breath rustled Roman’s wings, which idly flickered. Roman took another look at Logan’s face, so peaceful in rest. Roman wanted to stay and watch him longer, but he knew it was time to go. The fairy had stayed long enough tonight, wanting to comfort the upset child. 

_ “Can you stay a bit longer?”  _ Logan had pleaded timidly, and Roman knew he would have moved planets for this boy.

“ _ Of course.”  _ Roman had wiped his tears away, giving Logan a small kiss on the nose.

It had been quite a rough visit, neither one acknowledging the elephant in the room. Roman wasn’t sure if Logan had understood what was going on entirely or if this was just residual sadness from the fact that Virgil had recently left for college. Roman knew Virgil was a good kid as well, and was often Logan’s only human friend. To lose both of them might break Logan.

Roman sighed, looking down at the tooth in his hand. It was a molar, clearly well taken care of when it was still attached. It seemed Logan had finally listened to him about the importance of brushing. Roman held it tenderly, not unlike a baby bird.

It was Logan’s last baby tooth.

There was some more rustling next to him, and Roman could tell Logan was in an uneasy bout of sleep. Roman got up, brushing each hair tenderly from Logan’s forehead as he massaged the youngest Sander’s head, hoping to rub away all the aching in that overactive imagination. 

“Shh.” Roman murmured, giving Logan a hug as best a fairy could. How he longed to give Logan a proper embrace. “Goodnight, sweet prince.” 

When Logan settled back down Roman allowed himself one more look at the boy’s face, memorizing the details so that he would never forget. Slowly Roman turned, floating up towards the window.

“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”

Roman winced, turning to see Logan staring back at him blearily. He was a fool to think he could escape so easily.

“Yes.” Roman gave a small nod, watching as Logan rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Still tired, it was clear that Logan was not fully awake. 

“When will you be back?” Logan yawned, and it broke Roman’s heart.

“As- as soon as I can.” Roman assured him, hoping the child didn’t notice how his voice cracked. He knew this would be the last time he ever visited Logan Sanders. 

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye.” Logan realized.

“I thought you were asleep.” Roman gently returned, pressing against the human’s shoulder. “Go back to bed, it’s late.”

Logan allowed himself to be pushed back to a lying position, his eyes drifting shut. Roman pulled the blanket up, tucking Logan in.

“...goodbye.” Roman said finally, giving Logan one last kiss on his forehead.

“M’bye.” Logan mumbled, a small smile forming on his features at Roman’s touch. 

Roman flew out, stopping to pause at the windowsill and look at his boy one last time. Roman smiled fondly. Logan was a good kid; if he could survive childhood, Roman knew he would be a good adult as well. Roman wished he could be there to see it, but there comes a time when all children must outgrow their teeth and their tooth fairies. It was just the way of the world.

The tooth fairy looked around, taking in the site of the nursery. It had evolved over time, slowly shaping to Logan’s interests. Bookshelves lined the walls and various nerdy posters decorated the space. Roman snorted, noting the diagram on gum decay. Logan’s parents had never understood their child’s growing fascination with teeth, but Roman suspected he had played a large part in that. Logan could certainly make a decent dentist one day.

The thought of Logan all grown up made Roman pause. Would Logan remember him? Roman had never stopped to consider it. Most adults outgrew their childhood fantasies, but this was more than a fantasy. Roman knew he certainly would never forget Logan.

“So long, Logan.” Roman said softly, giving the wall a gentle pat. He finally took the plunge, flying off into the night. He wondered idly if that was the last time he would ever see the Sander’s nursery- the notion was certainly a strange one, especially after spending so many glorious nights there. Roman would be sad to see it go.

Then again, there was always the possibility of Logan having children of his own.


End file.
